But in order to don women’s clothes in “George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker,” he had to be a pretty strong guy — Mother Ginger’s garments are pretty heavy, he said.

“There’s a reason it’s a guy in the part,” said Scordato. “The role involves walking on stilts in a dress that weighs about 90 pounds. It rests on my shoulders. It’s so big, and there are eight children under it. You have to be pretty sturdy to be able to do that.”

Scordato is thrilled to be playing the larger-than-life character of Mother Ginger, the woman who hides all of her children under her skirt in the Sugar Plum Fairy’s Court.

“I love drag personally. It’s great to add a little of that humor to the show,” he said.

And he has to be careful not to step on those children hiding under that skirt (supported by a 40-pound metal frame).

“I can’t see them, so I have to be very coordinated,” he said.

Scordata, a Washington Township native — his parents still live there — began his ballet career at a young age. Dance seemed like the perfect outlet for Scordato. When his mom would put on some music, Scordato would move to the beat, he said,

“She asked me if I wanted to take dance lessons and I said, ‘Yes.’ I started dancing when I was 5. I learned all of the different styles, but as I got older I was mostly into ballet,” he said.

At 9, he began studying dance at The Rock Scholin Philadelphia. But it wasn’t until he was 12, after watching the famed New York City Ballet in a performance, that he knew ballet was his true calling.

He finished his training at the School of American Ballet in New York, the official ballet school of the New York City Ballet, and became an apprentice with the company in 2005. A year later, he joined the company as a member of the corps de ballet.

Today, at 25, he takes the stage at the Lincoln Center in several ballet performances, including nearly every dance part in the holiday classic, “The Nutcracker.”

And this year, for the first-time ever, the New York City Ballet is doing something special with this seasonal favorite: on Tuesday, Dec. 13, “George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker” will be broadcast to more than 500 movie theaters across the nation.

“They will be filming it here and showing it live,” Scordato said. “Not everyone can come to New York City every year to see ‘The Nutcracker.’ So I think this is really a great idea and I think we have a really great ‘Nutcracker.’”

Scordato hopes this live showing of the ballet at movie theaters will become a holiday tradition for families. Of course, the price of a movie ticket is much cheaper than a trip to the Big Apple to see these dancers perform, so it’s a great holiday outing for the family, he said.

“This is a great achievement for the company. Everyone here is really excited about this,” Scordato said.

And even though he’s appeared in “Nutcracker” after “Nutcracker” year after year, he still isn’t bored with Tschaikovsky’s masterpiece. It’s an enchanting show that he can’t get enough of, he said.

“I absolutely love it. I love the music and I love this particular ‘Nutcracker,’” he said. “It’s really fun to get the chance to dance in this magical show. There’s definitely magic in it.”

If you go: Fathom Events, the New York City Ballet and the Lincoln Center will present “George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker Live” in movie theaters throughout N.J., Delaware and Pennsylvania on Dec. 13. Theaters nearby include the Cinemark Movies 16 at 711 Evesham Ave., Somerdale at 6 p.m., Regal Burlington 20 at 250 Bromley Boulevard, Burlington, at 6 p.m., Cinemark Movies 10 Wilmington at 1796 W. Newport Pike in Wilmington, Del. at 6 p.m., Regal Brandywine Town Center 16 at 3300 Brandywine Parkway in Wilmington, Del. at 6 p.m., Regal King of Prussia 15 with IMAX 300 at Goddard Boulevard, King Of Prussia, Pa., at 6 p.m. and the Regal Marketplace at Oaks 24 at 180 Mill Road in Oaks, Pa., at 6 p.m. To purchase tickets, visit www.fathomevents.com.